Six Characteristics of the Protestant Anti-Gospel
- Progressive Justification. The Protestant Reformation turned every aspect of the true gospel completely upside down. “Justification by faith” is really justification by faith alone in sanctification (the Christian life). What they call “sanctification” is the progression of justification to a final justification.
- Dualism. It deems the flesh (body/members) as inherently evil and something that cannot be indwelled by holiness. The contemporary expression of that is the centrality of the objective gospel outside of us. This is based on Martin Luther’s alien righteousness. Therefore, the new birth must be denied along with any personal holiness associated with it. All righteousness must remain completely outside of the believer.
- Law as Justification’s Standard. The Reformers made law the standard for justification (see the Calvin Institutes 3.14.9-11). Therefore, the law has a single dimension and can only judge/condemn. This keeps “Christians” under law (instead of under grace) which is the very definition of a lost person. In contrast, law and justification are mutually exclusive.
- Redefinition of the New Birth. The Reformers made the new birth a change of realm rather than a literal transformation of the person. The “believer” is given the ability to “see” the kingdom, but not participate in its good works.
- Lovelessness. The ability of the Christian to love is circumvented because the law is only a standard for justification and must be kept perfectly to obtain any merit. The Christian is not free to use the law to love without fear of condemnation because the law can’t be kept perfectly by mortals. Hence, any loving act by a Christian cannot have merit.
- Two Seeds Instead of One. Since law is the standard for justification according to the Reformers, if fulfilled, it is a second seed that can give life (Gal 3:16). So, the promise was not only to Abraham and his offspring, but also to the law.
Logically Speaking, Abortion is the Oldest Religion on Earth
In a discussion of abortion, let’s set aside Christianity for a moment. Let’s set aside the Ten Commandments. Instead, let’s look at abortion from the viewpoint of logic and philosophy. Don’t worry, God is logical. Don’t worry, God was not on vacation when philosophy was discovered.
Let’s concede, for the sake of argument, that conception is not life. Let’s start with something that no one can deny: conception is the possibility of life. Let’s also add another point that no one can deny: only time can reveal what that life will be. Let’s also add the irrefutable fact that lives result in human milestones for humanity. That would seem fairly evident. Let’s also add the irrefutable fact that because of human conscience, those milestones have been for the better, and not worse.
And let’s add the irrefutable fact that one life leads to many other lives that also have a potential to contribute to humanity—a contribution that only time can reveal.
So what is abortion saying? It is saying that the possibility of life is completely irrelevant because life is irrelevant. Whether a legacy of one life and the lives it spawns contributes to humanity or not is irrelevant because life is irrelevant.
Now we are back to religion. In its most ancient form, religion disdains the material and longs for the invisible. If you can see it, hear it, touch it, feel it, or smell it, it is evil. And that, of course, includes life. Dualism is the foundation of most religions—if not all of them. Christ destroyed the whole notion when He arrived as Deity in human flesh.
Abortion is not a social issue, it is ancient religion. Logically, it rejects the value of life and deems its sum as zero. It is also misguided to think those who partake in abortion services only value their own life; no, because their life is without value, whatever happens in life stays in life, one day we will be free from its bondage to some invisible freedom of one’s own imagination. Decisions made in this life are as irrelevant as life itself.
Logically, abortion can only mean one thing: life in its totality is worthless. While arguing about when life begins, abortion wants to snuff out the very possibility of life itself.
It’s not a complicated social issue, it’s the oldest religion known to man.
paul
The Essence of Gnosticism and Why the Proof is NOT in the Pudding
“To emphasize the shadows is to emphasize life itself.”
There is one proof that today’s church is saturated with Gnosticism, other than the tyranny that comes with it. For the most part, when you listen to any given message taught to Christians, you will notice that a neutral or third option is missing. It’s an either/or worldview. The essence of Gnosticism is known as “dualism.” All knowledge is either good or evil. In the case of Protestantism, it’s Luther’s cross story or glory story: the knowledge of good and evil; sound familiar? All reality falls into two categories only: it’s EITHER about you, OR it’s about the cross.
“_______…is not necessarily a bad thing (fill in the shadow element), it’s just not the best thing.” Yes my friend, why do you emphasize the shadows when it is only the Son that gives life? In Protestantism, “Son.” In Platonism, “Sun.” For both: shadows = life and the material realm. To emphasize the shadows is to emphasize life itself.
Shadows are true. Plato never said that shadows don’t exist—he just deemed them useless for true knowledge. The virtuous person does not live in the shadows, he/she lives according to the true, good, and beautiful aka Plato’s trinity. The shadows, viz, life and whatever may be going on, is irrelevant to the wellbeing experience of the true, good, and beautiful. In the same way, good Protestants are deemed happy regardless of their circumstances; it is well with our soul.
If ISIS raises their flag above the White House—it is well with our soul.
If there is a pedophile in our church—it is well with our soul.
“Justice!” you say? If you want self-justice, you are just as guilty as the one who followed his self-desire. Come now, use this preordained opportunity to be the bigger person, to show forth the cross of self-denial. If you deny yourself justice, you are showing forth the gospel to the one who should have denied himself the fulfillment of his self-desire. We must “bring grace to the situation.” We must, “show forth the gospel.” We must show forth the self-death of the cross.
All of these things are just shadows after all. And to the Gnostic, whether an atheist or a good Protestant, the biggest shadow of all is capitalism. The profound spell of Plato is that he appeals to the social scientist and the religionist alike. Self-concept is the waters of the shadow world that we swim in. To the degree that we empty self and live solely for the sake of community, our individual soul is transformed. To the degree that individuals are transformed, society is transformed. Atheists and Protestants must not fuss; here now, hold hands and say, “ahhhmen.” After all, we all want the same thing: community wellbeing.
One is greatly mistaken if they point to the woes of societies living in the rotten fruits of Eastern mysticism as a contention. Those people are deemed virtuous because they are content in the shadows. If everyone would follow their example, the world would be balanced and the true, good, and beautiful would be manifested. The only reason that countries are poor is because capitalism’s greed takes from some and gives to others, and the earth is therefore unbalanced. The only way to a balanced, unified earth is collective self-death. This is where the liberal Democrat and the Neo-Calvinist both walk in the way of Martin Luther’s cross story.
Hence, the likes of ISIS is an unfortunate example of those who are a bit over-zealous. But they understand the importance of devaluing the life of the individual—they are just a bit extreme in demonstrating that truth. They are misguided, but yea, if only the capitalist understood their child-like faith.
Bad results are no pudding test. Capitalism isn’t the cure, it’s the cause. This is where the contrast between Christ who said, “the poor will always be with you,” and the dominion theology of the Neo-Calvinist and the liberal democrat alike should strike terror in our hearts.
paul
Paul's Passing Thoughts 
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